Heaven Can Wait

Heaven Can Wait

He believed in Love… Honor… and Obey – That Impulse!

NR 1943 · 112 min · ★ 6.9 · Comedy, Romance, Fantasy, Drama

Spoiled playboy Henry van Cleve dies and arrives at the entrance to Hell, a final destination he is sure he deserves after living a life of profligacy. The devil, however, isn't so sure Henry meets Hell's standards. Convinced he is where he belongs, Henry recounts his life's deeds, both good and bad, including an act of indiscretion during his 25-year marriage to his wife, Martha, with the hope that "His Excellency" will arrive at the proper judgment.

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch · Written by Samson Raphaelson

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Rent or Buy

Cast

Don Ameche Henry Van Cleve
Gene Tierney Martha Strabel Van Cleve
Charles Coburn Hugo Van Cleve
Marjorie Main Mrs. Strabel
Laird Cregar His Excellency
Spring Byington Bertha Van Cleve
Allyn Joslyn Albert Van Cleve
Eugene Pallette E.F. Strabel
Signe Hasso Yvette ("Mademoiselle")
Louis Calhern Randolph Van Cleve
Helene Reynolds Peggy Nash
Aubrey Mather James

Trailers & Videos

Make it a double feature

3h 31m together

Heaven Can Wait

The Shop Around the Corner

Both from Ernst Lubitsch.

More from Ernst LubitschSee all →

The Shop Around the Corner

The Shop Around the Corner · 1940

The Shop Around the Corner

MovieComedyDrama

Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand one another, without realising that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.

To Be or Not to Be

To Be or Not to Be · 1942

To Be or Not to Be

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.

Ninotchka

Ninotchka · 1939

MovieComedyRomance

A stern Russian woman sent to Paris on official business finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.

Trouble in Paradise

Trouble in Paradise · 1932

Trouble in Paradise

MovieComedyCrime

Thief Gaston Monescu and pickpocket Lily are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette's personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.

Broken Lullaby

Broken Lullaby · 1932

A young French soldier in World War I is overcome with guilt when he kills a German soldier who, like himself, is a musically gifted conscript, each having attended the same musical conservatory in France. The fact that the incident occurred in war does not assuage his guilt. He travels to Germany to meet the man's family.

The Last Command

The Last Command · 1928

The Last Command

MovieDramaHistory

A former Imperial Russian general and cousin of the Czar ends up in Hollywood as an extra in a movie directed by a former revolutionary.

Cluny Brown

Cluny Brown · 1946

MovieRomanceComedy

Amateur plumber Cluny Brown gets sent off by her uncle to work as a servant at an English country estate.

Design for Living

Design for Living · 1933

Design for Living

MovieComedyRomance

Independent Gilda is resigned fo a life of married tedium when Tom and George, having gotten past their jealousy, come to America and whisk Gilda away to live an exciting polyamorous life in Paris.

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife · 1938

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife

MovieComedyRomance

American multi-millionaire Michael Brandon marries his eighth wife, Nicole, the daughter of a broke French Marquis. But she doesn't want to be only a number in the line of his ex-wives and undertakes her own strategy to tame him.

That's Entertainment, Part II

That's Entertainment, Part II · 1976

That's Entertainment, Part II

MovieDocumentaryMusic

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.

Desire

MovieRomanceCrime

Madeleine steals a string of pearls in Paris and uses American engineer Tom, who is driving on his vacation to Spain, to get the pearls out of France. But getting the pearls back from him proves to be difficult without falling in love.

The Merry Widow

The Merry Widow · 1934

The Merry Widow

MovieComedyMusic

A prince from a small kingdom courts a wealthy widow to keep her money in the country.

The Oyster Princess

The Oyster Princess · 1919

The Oyster Princess

A pampered American oyster tycoon decides to buy a husband for his daughter, but things don’t go quite as planned. Along the way there are mishaps, misunderstandings and a foxtrot sequence that must be seen to be believed.

To Be or Not to Be

To Be or Not to Be · 1983

To Be or Not to Be

A bad Polish actor is just trying to make a living when Poland is invaded by the Germans in World War II. His wife has the habit of entertaining young Polish officers while he's on stage, which is also a source of depression to him. When one of her officers comes back on a Secret Mission, the actor takes charge and comes up with a plan for them to escape.

Angel

MovieRomanceDrama

While vacationing without her busy British diplomat husband, a married woman falls for another man.

Dragonwyck

Dragonwyck · 1946

MovieDramaRomance

A simple Connecticut farm girl is recruited by a distant relative, an aristocratic patroon, to be governess to his young daughter in his Hudson Valley mansion.

More Like This

Sleuth

MovieDramaMystery

Locked in a high-tech English manor, bound in a deadly duel of wits, Andrew Wyke and Milo Tindle come together as English gentlemen to discuss the matter of Wyke's wife: the woman both are sleeping with.

Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan · 1965

MovieHistoryDrama

This is the story of the shy Mongol boy Temujin who,during the 13th century, becomes the fearless Mongol leader Genghis Khan that unites all Mongol tribes and conquers India,China,Persia,Korea and parts of Rusia,Europe and Middle-East.

Guys and Dolls

Guys and Dolls · 1955

MovieComedyCrime

In New York, a gambler is challenged to take a Salvation Army missionary to Havana, and unexpectedly they fall for each other. And the bet has a hidden motive ... classic song and dance ensues!

The Sugarland Express

The Sugarland Express · 1974

The Sugarland Express

MovieCrimeDrama

Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean and Clovis Poplin lose their baby to the state of Texas and resolve to do whatever it takes to get him back. Lou-Jean gets Clovis out of jail, and the two steal their son from his foster home, in addition to taking a highway patrolman hostage. As a massive dragnet starts to pursue them across Texas, the couple become unlikely folk heroes and even start to bond with the captive policeman.

Dancing at Lughnasa

Dancing at Lughnasa · 1998

Dancing at Lughnasa

Five unmarried sisters make the most of their simple existence in rural Ireland in the 1930s.

Send Me No Flowers

Send Me No Flowers · 1964

Send Me No Flowers

MovieComedyRomance

When a hypochondriac assumes that he is dying, he makes an elaborate plan to ensure his wife's happiness. However, trouble ensues when she misunderstands his intentions.

10 Things I Hate About You

10 Things I Hate About You · 1999

10 Things I Hate About You

MovieComedyRomance

On the first day at his new school, Cameron instantly falls for Bianca, the gorgeous girl of his dreams. The only problem is that Bianca is forbidden to date until her ill-tempered, completely un-dateable older sister Kat goes out, too. In an attempt to solve his problem, Cameron singles out the only guy who could possibly be a match for Kat: a mysterious bad boy with a nasty reputation of his own.

Prospero's Books

Prospero's Books · 1991

Prospero's Books

MovieDramaFantasy

An exiled magician finds an opportunity for revenge against his enemies muted when his daughter and the son of his chief enemy fall in love in this uniquely structured retelling of the 'The Tempest'.

Papillon

Papillon · 1973

MovieCrimeDrama

A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.

We're No Angels

We're No Angels · 1989

We're No Angels

MovieComedyCrime

Two escaped cons' only prayer to escape is to pass themselves off as priests and pass by the police blockade at the border into the safety of Canada.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter